Here in Virginia we have had a couple of unseasonably cool days for July (which has been refreshing after a week of temperatures that sometimes reached above 100°F with high humidity). It's been great to enjoy the beautiful weather and I am hoping it will last through the holiday weekend although I'm pretty sure that is wishful thinking. Speaking of the holiday weekend, don't miss the 4th of July resources in the Educational Resources as well as the special report "Ten Tips for Coping with Temperamental Teens" linked in our article below.

If the weather where you are is too hot to enjoy outdoor activities, try this idea from the ladies at PJs All Day: have a library scavenger hunt. Use index cards to detail which books you want the kids to find, then leave spaces for them to fill in the rest of the information. You can have them look for specific titles, authors, call numbers or genres. It's a good time for a lesson in how to use the online (or manual) card catalog if they aren't already familiar with it.

Enjoy the newsletter and have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Warm regards,
Mary Ann Kelley
Editor

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2. TheHomeSchoolMom.com Website Updates

Teaching Calendar

Civil Rights Act of 1864 - July 2
Independence Day - July 4
Pinocchio first printed - July 6
First international manned space flight - July 15

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3. Little Passports
(our sponsor)

Little Passports inspires your child to learn about different countries, cultures and languages in a fun and engaging way.
Little Passports is an award-winning global adventure for children aged 6 to 10 years old. Follow our globetrotting characters, Sam and Sofia, as they travel to a new country every month on their magical scooter.
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4. Educational Resources

Climate Zone
Climate Zone is a great site for studying world climates. In addition to detailed maps and country information, the site includes weather data from climate stations within each zone. Perfect source for country reports.
http://www.climate-zone.com/

Bomomo
Another cool way to spend time indoors on hot days, Bomomo could easily become addictive for kids who like to create art. A variety of drawing tools are available and each produces a different stroke on the canvas. Colors are automatically applied and the result is dependent on the way the user applies the tools to the canvas. Images can be saved to your computer as a JPEG file.
http://bomomo.com

Independence Day Word Bank
WriteShop has put together this word bank for those of you looking for some writing activities to occupy your children in preparation for celebrating Independence Day, or they can use the word banks next week as they journal or write stories about how they spent their holiday.
http://www.writeshop.com/blog/2010/07/02/independence-day-word-bank/

Celebrating Holidays: July 4th
This site offers lots of background information and resources for studying the founding of our nation and celebrating Independence Day. The July 4th section of the site includes history, symbols, songs, stories, recipes, and crafts. Celebrating Holidays is a site with a Christian perspective that seeks to highlight accurate historical resources.
http://www.celebratingholidays.com/?page_id=25

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5. Work at Home United
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6. Recently Seen Online

Seen Online

A collection of recent homeschooling pages, news items, interviews, and features that we have seen online.

Dayna Martin's response to Nightline story
Nightline did a story on radical unschooling featuring the family of Dayna Martin of The Sparkling Martini's blog. The story was exploitative and generally negative, but Dayna's response is gracious and enlightening. Good job, Dayna!

May 25 2010 edition of Carnival of Homeschooling
Carnival of Homeschooling post for May 25 with thoughts sprinkled throughout that will ignite a spark in our hearts and minds for sincerely observing Memorial Day. Also, as we read through some of these amazing posts from other homeschooling families, I hope we would all find ourselves immensely thankful for all the freedoms that men and women have sacrificed for including the freedom to teach our children in our homes...

See the full listing »

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7. Article - The Young Teen in Your House
by Barbara Frank

Little kids love summer. Big kids love summer. But what about teens?

My kids looked forward to every summer until they became teens, and then everything changed. Suddenly, running through the sprinkler just didn’t thrill them anymore.

I was used to them rising early to run out and play with their friends. But once the teen years hit, they’d sleep later and later, completely missing summer mornings and sometimes having to be called for lunch.

I remember worrying that my older son would suffocate in his room. By 11 am, he was still sound asleep with the window shut tight while the sun heated up that end of the house. My attempts to rouse him were greeted by growls, as though he were a confused bear who thought he was still hibernating through the winter.

Once conscious, he’d stumble downstairs, where the hunger that had built up over 12 or 13 hours of sleep made him eat as though he’d gone days without food. His enormous breakfast would segue into lunch with the rest of us, and he kept on eating. Then he’d head outside to play basketball with friends for the afternoon, come home in time to eat an enormous dinner, and play on the computer before lapsing back into his night-time coma.

I learned from friends with older children that this was actually par for the course for growing teen boys. Looking back, it makes sense to me now. After all, it takes a lot of rest and nourishment to grow to 6”4” and wear a size 16 shoe! But at the time, I was quite mystified.

Do you have a young teen in your house this summer? Are you mystified by some of the things you’re seeing him or her do? As teens’ bodies change, their emotions and behaviors change, too. Learn more about how to live with your teen in my free Special Report, “Ten Tips for Coping with Temperamental Teens”:

http://www.cardamompublishers.com/CardamomPublishers-Temperamental-Teens.pdf

Barbara Frank homeschooled three children to adulthood and continues to homeschool her youngest son. She’s the author of the new book “Women of the Old Testament: 14 In-Depth Bible Studies for Teens” as well as “Life Prep for Homeschooled Teenagers,” “The Imperfect Homeschooler’s Guide to Homeschooling,” and “Homeschooling Your Teenagers.” You'll find her on the Web at www.cardamompublishers.com and http://barbarafrankonline.com

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